Pau Gasol remained with the San Antonio Spurs through the NBA trade deadline last week, and the veteran big man insists any talk of that not being the preferred outcome for him is inaccurate.
A recent report from ESPN Deportes claimed Gasol asked the Spurs to trade him, but the team could not work out a deal. Gasol ripped that report while speaking with the media on Tuesday.
“What’s the source? What’s the validity of that story? I don’t know,” Gasol said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “I didn’t request to be traded. I don’t want to comment on it because it is what it is.”
However, Gasol did hint that he has been unhappy with his role in San Antonio this season.
“I think people understand or can figure out my situation on the team is not what was expected from me, and my only wish and desire is to be able to contribute to the team, and be able to be on the floor and do what I’m supposed to do, and do what I signed here to do, and kind of live up to what I’m paid for,” he said. “That’s all. I’m waiting and hoping that that will happen. I’m staying positive. But don’t believe everything that is out there.”
Gasol admitted that people probably believed the report because it “makes sense,” so perhaps it was understood that the two sides would explore options to part ways. That doesn’t mean Gasol went to management and asked for a trade, but it sure sounds like he would not have been opposed to one.
Now in his 18th NBA season, Gasol’s numbers have fallen off a cliff. He has posted career lows basically across the board and is averaging just 4.4 points in 12.5 minutes per game. Although he’s 38, Gasol feels he can contribute more than the Spurs have allowed him to. Between the lack of production, a foot injury that resulted in him missing 26 games, and the bicycle accident he had over the summer, Gasol has faced some adversity in recent months.
